Can You be Charged with Murdering Someone You Didn’t Kill?

A Florida man wielding an unloaded gun outside a bar may be charged with murder after police confronting him accidentally shot and killed a bystander.

Kody Roach, 23, described as a “gun-wielding maniac” by a 911 caller, was found outside the Vixen Bar in Orlando on August 19 by Officer Eduardo Sanguino, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

After Roach failed to comply with an order to lie down on the ground, Sanguino fired nine times at Roach, who had allegedly discharged his handgun inside the bar. Roach’s gun, however, was not loaded, police later determined.

Five of Sanguino’s shots hit Roach, who was hospitalized and is expected to survive.

But one of the officer’s bullets struck bystander Maria Fernanda Godinez Castillo, killing the 22-year-old university student. Local prosecutors now plan to indict Roach for Godinez’s death.

“As a result of Roach’s actions, an individual was killed therefore probable cause exist to further charge Roach with first degree felony murder,” an arrest affidavit states.